Acoustic Shock
by Zentauria
Summary: In which Bomb Arrows are Not Good, Link goes temporarily deaf and Revali finds out that the Hylian Champion does, in fact, experience emotions.


Link was not a happy camper. One minute Zelda was in a meeting with Chief Nahali he (ostensibly) wasn't allowed to join, and the next she was gone.

For Hylia's sake, he'd only walked off to feed the horses! Alright, he may or may not have snuck an apple for himself along the way, but the Goddesses wouldn't punish him for _that_, right? Not like this, anyway. Not by forcing him to look for a wayward princess in the mountains of Tabantha.

He was making his way towards the Flight Range now, figuring that Zelda would probably hide with Revali. It was no secret that the Rito Champion couldn't stand Link's presence and in turn, Link avoided him at all costs. It just made sense for the spiteful princess to do that to her knight.

Such was Link's life.

At least she'd been kind enough to supply him with a suitable tunic and trousers after she noticed that his pack for the trip consisted of 80 percent Spicy ingredients, though not without scolding him for not telling her _beforehand_ that he couldn't afford warm clothing. Still, with the snow crunching under his boots and his breath flying white in the biting winds, he could imagine much more pleasant places to be.

Like the freaking _desert_. At least there, he could see where he was _going_. In a rocky place like this, assassins could be hiding everywhere... or maybe he was just being paranoid. Then again, some healthy paranoia wasn't going to hurt him around here.

A rapid series of explosions set Link's ears ringing, making him jump. Then he realized that it should be Revali practicing with Bomb Arrows, and he heaved a sigh of relief. That insufferable birdbrain was the only one who could shoot at such a dizzying speed.

Which also meant there was no way around the birdbrain in question. Maybe the Yiga Clan didn't sound so unappealing after all... Revali couldn't be distracted with bananas.

And neither could Zelda, for that matter, though the thought did coax an involuntary smile from his lips. If only the princess was as easily bribed with food as her knight was...

Link shook his head. The apple had been nowhere near enough to satisfy him. If he started thinking about food now, he'd probably walk straight past Zelda if he came across her.

Link started humming a breezy little tune he picked up from the village kids. It kept his mind off of food and injected a spring into his step he normally wouldn't permit himself to show.

But _damn_ if it didn't help him face the last bend with some positivity!

There was another string of explosions and Link put his hood up to provide his sensitive ears with at least _some_ protection. While the Rito won incredibly sharp eyes at the genetics lottery, they had no idea what three Bomb Arrows exploding at once could do to a Hylian, and Link wasn't about to point it out. It wasn't that he thought of Revali as actively malicious, but since the Rito didn't _have_ Hylian ears, Link suspected that Revali might get teasing and bodily harm mixed up.

On that cheerful note, Link made his way up Dronoc's Pass, with a quick detour to the Ancient Shrine along the way (Zelda was so obsessed with these things, she might have been there and he could have crossed Revali off his list, but alas, no princess).

When Link arrived at the Flight Range, the Rito Champion was expecting him with his wings crossed and shoulders squared – the epitome of either awesomeness or arrogance, both were probably right.

"Why, isn't it everyone's favorite knight? To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Revali spread his wings, lifting them to the most dramatic angle while causing an updraft that nearly tore the hood off Link's head. The young Hylian had to blink to keep his eyes from watering, but he managed without flinching back and covering his face. Revali either didn't notice or didn't care. "Oh, never mind. I am not worthy of your words, oh High and Mighty Hero of Hyrule." With a grand, sweeping bow, Revali took off into the sky and returned to practice. Or maybe he was showing off, now that he had an audience. It seemed rather probable, judging from the fancy loops and twirls, and that one upside-down shot of, again, three Bomb Arrows.

This close by, the sting of such an intense soundwave would have sent anyone less than the very personification of self-control whimpering in a corner, but Link was actually somewhat grateful for the sudden hearing loss. He wasn't going to run into any Yiga here, and he didn't need to listen to Revali's incoming bragging. It made it easier not to react to anything.

He doubted by now that Zelda was nearby, unless she was looking for deafness, too. But he wanted to make sure and checked the little gazebo and landing. No hidden princesses, not even in quiet corners. But at least there were some pillows to cover his poor, abused ears with, and a fire with a cooking pot.

Hmm... He could stay for a minute, right? Revali surely wouldn't mind if Link used the pot, and Zelda would mind even less. Besides, it was easier looking for princesses on a full stomach.

He opened the belt pouch he reserved for food. It was enhanced with Korok magic to hold more than it normally would, making it pretty much perfect for his needs.

He absently popped a random piece of honey candy while going through his supplies to decide what he wanted to make. He'd shot a snow pigeon on the way to Rito Village, and it seemed like a good idea to use it before it went bad. Between the tons of pepper, Link also got hold of a half-empty and half-forgotten bottle of Goron spice. If he still had some rice as well, and maybe a carrot or two... Yup, curry it was, then.

While Revali was booming it up outside, Link spread out his ingredients and cooking utensils on a convenient dresser and set to work. Tabantha had enough untouched snow to make curry from the whole pigeon, so Link ended up making more than he needed. He had half a mind to try and lure Zelda with it after all (the hunger was probably father to the thought, but his cooking was just about the only thing about him that she actually appreciated, so... maybe?), but in a surprising turn of events, a tap on his shoulder made Link nearly jump through the roof. He spun around and stood inside a wall of feathers, which bristled around him and Revali took a step back. He launched into a rant that Link still couldn't hear through the wooly feeling in his ears, so the young Hylian shrugged mentally and returned to stirring his curry. After a few minutes, he almost got startled again when Revali just about slapped him with a sheet of paper. Link shook his head to get rid of the throbbing in his nose, then noticed that there was a message on the paper: _I spotted Princess Zelda getting attacked by the Yiga Clan._

In a rare bout of expressiveness, Link gasped and dropped the ladle as his hand flew to his sword. His eyes flashed across the Flight Range, but no, Revali could look much farther than that, he had to run!

He was ready to jump down the ladder, curry forgotten, but Revali stepped into his way, scribbling a new message. Link waited anxiously for the directions that were sure to come.

Instead, he felt the urge to slap Revali with the flat of his blade when the paper read: _Relax. I was testing if you really can't hear me. And before you "ask": No, I don't know where she is. Probably took her horse and ran off to who-knows-where. I can't blame her for ditching you._

Link gritted his teeth and let go of the hilt. He forced his features to smooth and stalked back to the pot. If his curry got burned because of this stunt, he'd use Revali as substitute!

But it smelled fine, and Link could feel his stomach growl. Just a few more minutes...

A beak appeared at Link's shoulder. It was a little too deep inside his personal space, so he stepped aside and Revali straightened. Half a minute later, there was another message in Link's face.

_That's my pot. I demand compensation._

Link was dangerously close to rolling his eyes at that point. He was happy to share, but a simple _Can I have a serving? _would have done the trick just fine. He pointed at the dresser, where he had already prepared two bowls of rice, and gestured for Revali to bring them over. The Rito huffed (or so Link suspected), but he complied and held the bowls while Link added a generous helping of curry to each of them.

It was a little weird to have an actual excuse not to speak besides _I don't trust myself to open my mouth without dissolving into a pity party or just generally putting my foot in. _Revali seemed a lot less angry. He still started yelling when he caught Link observing his eating habits (the Rito had _beaks_, how could anyone _not_ be interested?), but Link couldn't exactly blame him for that. He wouldn't be too pleased, either, so he hunched his shoulders and bowed his head apologetically before concentrating on his own food.

A companionable silence settled between the two Champions. Link looked up every now and again to make sure the Rito across wasn't blustering or raving and he simply didn't hear it, but they seemed okay for once. The one time Revali caught him glancing at his person, he lifted his spoon and waved it accusingly, but Link couldn't help feeling that it was more in jest than anything.

Before he knew it, he was poking out his tongue.

Revali blinked, beak agape, pure astonishment in his eyes.

And Link froze, hot blood rushing to his face. He could feel it all the way to the tips of his ears.

He started shoveling rice and curry into his mouth in a desperate attempt to save face, but he knew it was all in vain. Acting like a child in front of _Revali_ of all people... He would _never_ live it down.

But Revali's beak didn't move (outside of closing, that is), and Link spent the rest of his meal staring into his bowl, right until every single grain of rice was eaten.

When he was forced to put it down at last and face Revali again, the Rito picked up his notepad and pencil. While he was writing, Link mentally braced himself for the mockery of a lifetime.

_Well, that wasn't too horrible. I allow you to use my pot more often._

Now it was Link's turn to blink in astonishment. He couldn't recall ever being this dumbfounded, and he didn't quite manage to recover from it. Before he could fight it down and school his features, the surprise took a wrong turn.

Link wasn't even sure how laughing _worked_ anymore, but he threw back his head and did just that. At first it was an odd, raspy sound that had more of a whimpering quality to it than anything, but it gradually rose in pitch and cheer. What was it that his mom always said? _The way to a man's heart is through his stomach._

Apparently, he and his father weren't the only ones that saying applied to.

Once Link had calmed down, figuring he should do this more often, he noticed that on Revali's end, his little outburst was met with great skepticism. The Rito held up his notepad again: _Well, well. Looks like someone does have emotions._

Link opened his mouth in a silent imitation of a flustered _Uh..._ before taking a deep breath. He was _so_ going to regret this.

"I can hear again."

* * *

**And this is why Zentauria avoids discos like the plague.**

**I actually wrote this for the Revali/Teba part of _Old Days, New Bonds_, but it's so far away from what I aimed for that I couldn't make my original theme fit organically. It's not that great as a standalone, but I figured 'Hey, I wrote it, might as well post it. Maybe someone likes it anyway!'**

**Now I just hope I didn't mess up my medical terms. It's bad enough in my native tongue. Doing it all over in English... Well, one does not simply open a dictionary for words like "Hörsturz" or "Knalltrauma". That's research, baby! XP**


End file.
